Safety First: Safe Handling of Adhesives and Sealants
While cured adhesives and sealants are generally considered safe, care must be taken with airborne particles, decomposition products, and uncured components.
Completely cured adhesives and sealants are generally considered safe and non-toxic, although caution must be exercised when machining or grinding joints due to airborne particles. Also, decomposition products may exhibit substantial vapor pressures that present health and safety issues. However, it is exposure to uncured components that can be the most harmful, and that is the subject of this article.
Four primary factors must be considered in all adhesive bonding or sealing operations: toxicity; flammability; hazardous incompatibility; and equipment. Resins and catalysts must be carefully considered because they not only present health and safety issues within the factory or worksite, but they also present issues within the community relative to the release of volatiles and waste disposal. These materials could be toxic or flammable, or they could be skin irritants. Formulators should ensure that these raw materials are compounded in a safe environment. Once formulated, the end user also has responsibilities with regard to safe handling and disposal of adhesive and sealant products.